Breaking the Rules
by Myplo
Summary: Their relationship started with two rules. The first took two years to break, the second took four. Arthur/Eames Slash.
1. Coming Together

Breaking the Rules

Coming Together

Eames had heard from others that Cobb's point man was a perfect postured, no nonsense, sick in the mud. So he is surprised when the first thought through his head when he meets the man is, _I'm going to need to see him naked_.

It takes Eames three long weeks to make that happen.

Half way through the first day he walks over to where Arthur is tapping away on a laptop. Leaning in far too close he whispers, "You are gorgeous."

"Thank you," Arthur says sharply never looking up from the screen, "Go away."

Right, Eames though, not going to be that easy. As he walks back to his own desk he sees a thrown away starbucks cup in the bin. The barista was lovely enough to leave him the coffee order written on the side. Smiling Eames begins his new 'seduce Arthur' plan.

He brings Arthur coffee every morning. When Arthur asks how he knew how he liked his coffee Eames says, "You look like a mocha latte kind of guy." Which was a lie, he had him pegged as having his coffee black and bitter. He had a sweet tooth. This contradiction in nature made Eames that much more determined to succeed. Clearly there was more to Arthur than meets the eye.

He makes sure to _accidently_ touch him as much as possible. When he hands him the coffee, when Arthur brings him papers, he always makes their hands connect, fingers sliding over wrists. When he says goodbye at the end of the night Eames gives Arthur a pat on the back, his hand lingering a moment too long. Unfortunately Arthur appears completely unfazed and oblivious to his actions.

Straight foreword didn't work, too subtle didn't work either. Time to shoot for the middle ground.

"This is really excellent work," he says after Arthur hands him the latest findings.

Arthur just stares at him then walks away.

"That tie is excellent, really brings out your eyes," he says the next day as he hands him the coffee.

Arthur looks down at the tie then back up at him. "Thank you," he says softly.

Eames savours his first victory a few days later when he mentions "how nice it is to work with people as attractive as myself," giving a wink in Arthur's direction. Arthur looks away but not before Eames catches a smile crossing his face.

After two weeks working together and a few more small victories Eames feels confident enough to step up the game. He waits for Cobb to go home for the day, leaving them alone. Walking up to Arthur, whose packing up the equipment for the night, Eames holds up two bottles of beer.

"Fancy a drink?" He says with a smile he knows is charming.

"I don't drink beer," Arthur replies as he closes up the his case. Picking it up off the desk he walks towards the door, "See you tomorrow Mr. Eames."

Eames is left to drink both beers alone.

He doesn't let this rejection deter his efforts though. He starts being more obvious with his flirting. A couple of times a day he'll lean in close to him with the pretence of fixing Arthur's tie, which is never out of place. Arthur never stops him, one time going so far as to smooth out Eames shirt at the same time.

He asks Cobb seemingly innocent questions about Arthur's preferred drinking tastes before approaching the man again three nights later.

"I bought wine this time," He says holding up the red wine in one hand and two wine glasses in the other, "I have it on good authority that this is your favourite."

Arthur glances at the wine, "No," he says.

"Cobb says you drink this all the time," Eames states frustrated.

"Yes I like the wine, but no I won't have a drink with you."

"Why not, it's just a drink."

Arthur scoffs at him, "No it's not. You've been trying to woo me or whatever since you got here."

So you have been paying attention, he thinks.

"You've caught me," Eames takes a step forward so there's only inches separating them, "I like you Arthur. I think you're gorgeous, smart and sexy. I think you have the most beautiful eyes and what I want, is to stare into them as I have my wicked way with you."

He tries to move in closer before Arthur puts up his hands and forces Eames back a step.

"I don't get involved with people I'm working with," says Arthur, "My job requires a lot of focus and commitment. I can't afford to be distracted. By anything... or anyone" He looks at Eames, "Even if I am interested."

Eames stares at Arthur for a moment, "So you're saying that despite my best efforts, you and I are off limits while we're working together?"

Arthur nods, "That's correct."

Eames leans forward, "What if we weren't working together?"

"That's irrelevant," Arthur says moving back putting space between them, "We are on this job together, therefore nothing can happen."

"And when the job's finished?"

Arthur smiles, "Ask me again then."

After that Eames stops flirting with him and the small touches disappear, although he still brings Arthur his coffee every morning.

The final day of the job approaches and the extraction goes off without a hitch. Cobb delivers the information to the buyers and comes back with everybody's share of the payment. Eames has never been so glad to see a job come to an end.

Arthur is packing up his bag when he hears the knock. Standing straight he stares at the door. He knows who it is, and he's surprised at the flutter in his stomach. He's not sure how it happened, but somehow Eames has worked his way in. Despite knowing it was for the best he had missed Eames' attention the last few days. He opens the hotel door to see him standing on the other side.

"Job's over," Eames states simply.

"Yes it is."

"So we don't work together anymore."

He smiles, "No we don't."

Eames leans against the door frame, "Can I come in and distract you?"

Arthur doesn't say anything, he simply moves aside, letting Eames into his room.

Once he's shut the door he turns around, puts his hands on Eames' shoulders and gently pushes him against the wall. Arthur looks into his eyes, giving himself this moment to see them properly for the first time. He then cups the back of Eames' head and brings himself in close.

Eames pulls back before their mouths connect.

"I don't do kissing," He explains seeing Arthur's confused look, "It just complicates things."

Arthur pauses, then lowers his eyes, "Okay".

He moves his hand and places it on Eames' chest, feeling his body's heat through the thin shirt. He slowly moves it downwards and starts to undo the buttons, gradually revealing more and more skin with each one. Arthur wants to take his time undressing Eames, wants them to be able to discover and explore each other's bodies. But he can feel Eames starting to fidget, can sense him getting impatient. He knows why Eames is here.

It doesn't take much longer before they are both shirtless, breathing heaving, and hands down each other's pants. The sex is fast and desperate and hot as all hell.

Afterwards Eames is lying on the hotel carpet, a sweaty naked Arthur lying next to him, looking as delicious as he thought he would. That had been exactly what Eames wanted and more.

"We are defiantly going to have to do that again," he states.

Arthur gives the ceiling a smug smile, "Give me thirty minutes."

He is careful not to make direct eye contact again. That would make this too personal.


	2. Forging a Bond

Arthur's job requires him to keep track of the general whereabouts of all former marks, employers and co-workers. Knowing Eames location is something Arthur would need to know regardless of whatever happened between them. However he can't ignore the fact that every time the man's name appears on his screen he has sudden flashbacks Eames withering beneath him moaning 'Oh yes' in his ear. Whenever he discovers that he and Eames are in neighbouring cities he has the urge to abandon what he's working on and run to the man. He never acts on it his desire though. What he and Eames had was a night of fantastic pleasure for both parties, but that was all it was. It's like visiting a fantastic restaurant where the food is perfect, but the next time the reality of it can't live up to the expectation. A repeat performance would only disappoint.

So despite Arthur knowing Eames' every move they don't see each other again for three months.

* * *

"I think we're going to need a third person at the station." Cobb states as he and Arthur are going through the plans for their latest job.

"I agree. Got anyone specific in mind?" Arthur asks.

"Time is an issue. Whose close by that we've successfully worked with before?"

Arthur can think of two people who could do the job that were closer, in fact one of them was in their city, but Eames wasn't that far away, and he was the best they'd worked with in the past. He really was the logical choice. It was a purely professional decision.

Personally flying to pick him up probably wasn't.

"Arthur!" Eames exclaims in delight upon seeing him standing outside his hotel door.

Arthur gives him a nod, "Mr. Eames, may I come in?"

"Of course."

They make their way to the middle of the suit before Eames turns and looks at him.

"I can't make up my mind," he says slowly scanning Arthur's body down then up, "whether I want you to be here for business or pleasure."

"Business," Arthur states plainly.

"Well that's good," he says clapping his hand together, "I have quite a few debts that need to be paid off and not much money left in the bank. What's the job?"

Arthur goes over the basic details, not giving too much away before Eames is officially on board.

"Sounds simple enough. One week, twenty-five percent of the cut?"

"That's correct."

"Sign me up then. When do we leave?"

"I've got a helicopter booked for 5am tomorrow morning."

Eames raise an eyebrow, "That's over 10 hours away. Knowing you I'd thought we'd be in the air within minutes."

"Well," Arthur says smiling for the first time since stepping into the room, "I thought you might have needed some... convincing."

"Really?" Eames says, "Arthur dear, if I didn't know better I'd say you were here for both business _and_ pleasure."

Arthur takes a step towards Eames shortening the distance between them, "I thought perhaps there were things we might want to discuss."

"What sort of things might those be?"

"Like, how it's too hot in here so we should probably take all our clothes off."

Eames barks out a laugh, "I'm definitely up for that discussion. Does this mean you've abandoned your no fraternizing with co-workers rule."

"No," Arthur says, "While we are working my focus needs to be solely on the job. But," he gives Eames a slow smile and leans forward, "technically we won't be working together until we meet up with Cobb in Madrid."

Eames bridges the small gap between them, slips his arm around Arthur and pulls him tight, "Too hot for clothes, you say?"

They made it to the bed this time. Reality exceeded expectation.

* * *

During his second job working with Arthur and Cobb Eames discovers three important things. The first was that when he wasn't making an effort to bed one of his team members it was surprisingly easy to get a lot of work done. Though he would never admit it, Eames was starting to think that Arthur's no distractions rule was actually quite valid.

The second thing he discovers is that despite their prior physical encounters Arthur does not respond to any sort of flirting, subtle or not. He does however respond charmingly well to bickering. Which leads to his third most important discovery. He loves to banter with Arthur. It was the most non-sexual fun he has had with anyone in a long time. Whenever he feels any tension rising between them, like when Arthur had knocked his notes on the floor and had bent over to collect them, Eames would start with the bickering. It actually took a lot of brain function to successfully go head to head with Arthur and within a few minutes all tension would dissipate and he could go back to work clear headed and focused on the task at hand.

As Eames predicted the job was quite simple. He created a police holding station. While Cobb and Arthur 'arrested' and 'interrogated' the mark, Eames, dressed as an officer, chatted up the head of security to gain extra info. It was over within minutes.

After the successful extraction Cobb goes to deliver the information and collect their payment, leaving Eames and Arthur alone to clean up any evidence of their work.

"I don't think I've ever had a job go quite that smoothly." He leans against the desk and grins suggestively at Arthur, "We should go out and celebrate."

"I have other plans," Arthur say as he collects all the papers into a pile.

"Oh," he says flatly, "fair enough."

They finish the rest of the clean up in silence.

Later on Eames thinks about going to a bar, finding someone to help release the frustration. Preferably someone dressed in an immaculate suit, but he doesn't. He had looked forward to being with Arthur, not some random anybody. He tries to tell himself that he isn't hurt that Arthur has so easily dismissed him. No, not hurt, just disappointed. He wouldn't go so far as to say that Arthur was the best lay he'd ever had, but he definitely rank up high. Of course he was disappointed that he wasn't going to get to have another go or three with the man. But his _feelings_ certainly weren't involved.

He's nursing his third glass of scotch when the knock comes. It could have been a number of people. The maid, Cobb with the money, debt collectors, but he knows before he opens the door whose standing on the other side. His mood is instantly lifted when he sees Arthur.

"I bought wine," Arthur says holding up his right hand to show off the bottle.

"Thought you had plans?"

"I do, they involve you, this wine," he holds up his left hand, "and these handcuffs."

Eames couldn't stop the stupid grin that spread across his face, "I knew you liked seeing me in that uniform."

* * *

Over the next year they'll develop a routine. Sex before and after any jobs they work together, which Eames quickly realises is not that often enough. Knowing that Arthur keeps tabs on him when they're not working together, Eames tells him that if they are ever in the same city, he needs to pay him a visit. Arthur extends this to include any location within four hours travel.

They see each other quite infrequently, sometimes only weeks between meetings other times months. Anytime there's an unexpected knock at his door, Eames always hopes that it's Arthur. They only spends a few hours together, neither of them ever spending the night. They don't speak much outside of pleasantries, moans or instructions. They have a purely physical relationship, which is why it takes Eames over a year to realise he actually cares for Arthur.

* * *

Arthur paces the small room, hands running along the walls trying to feel any indications of a hidden door or a way out. He makes three passes around the room before he comes to the realisation.

"We're trapped."

"No, really?" Eames says, "Whatever gave it away? Could it have been the total lack of an exit?"

Arthur shoots a glare at him, "How about you try and be helpful."

"Cobb must have a reason that he trapped us here. Unless he changes the level again we're stuck until the timer runs out," he looks at his watch, "which isn't for another 5 hours. Might as well get as comfortable as possible." He walks over to the closest wall and slids down to the sit on the floor.

Arthur doesn't give up that easily and continues trying to find a way out. Twenty minutes later he comes and joins Eames on the floor defeated, "What is he thinking? He can't complete the job alone, something must have spooked him."

Eames can hear the worry in Arthur's voice, "It's just a dream," he says calmly, "No matter what happens down here he'll still wake up, and then you can yell at him for leaving you trapped here with me. In the mean time we have hours of time to kill," he looks at Arthur with a serious expression, "Truth or Dare?"

Arthur chuckles shaking his head, "Dare."

Eames grins, "Mess up your hair."

Over the next few hours they move from Truth or Dare, to Eye Spy (which doesn't last very long in an empty room), to Thumb Wars (before Eames realises that Arthur takes it a bit too seriously). Eventually they find themselves simply talking. At first it's related to their work, the thrill of a job, how they got started with extractions, best level they'd ever created. Then it starts to get more personal, they talk about where they grew up, about their families, their friends, about their past relationships, and the difficulty of being involved with someone in their line of work.

Arthur is leaning his shoulder against Eames', finding surprising joy in the small contact.

"Ever been in love?" Arthur asks quietly.

"Love?" Eames scoffs, "No, not yet. You?"

He blinks, "Yes."

There's a moment of silence before Arthur jerks his head as if hearing something before quickly turning back and looking at Eames, "Truth or Dare?"

Eames stills seeing the look in Arthur's eyes, he whispers, "Dare."

"Kiss me."

Eames doesn't kiss. When Eames gets involved with people it's all about achieving maximum pleasure for both. Kissing isn't about pleasure, it's about feelings. You can't hide your feelings when kissing, if you're bored, desperate, horny, or in love, the kisses will always tell. So Eames doesn't kiss.

Except now Arthur's asked him to. This man he's come to respect, who he's been shagging for over a year, who is now looking at Eames with an expression he can't decipher. That's when he realises that he wants to kiss him, that not kissing Arthur would be stupid, because there are already feelings involved.

He brings his hand up to Arthur's face stroking his fingers down his cheek, Arthur's breath catching as he traces his thumb along his lips. Eames leans forward, bringing their foreheads together. Their mouths are hovering barely an inch apart. He can feel their breaths intermingling. He licks his lips, bridges the small gap and wakes up.

He's back in the warehouse, Cobb has already pulled put out his needle and is rushing for the door. Arthur sits up in the chair next to him.

Eames reaches out, "Arthur."

But he's already up and moving across the room. When he reaches the door he pauses and looks back at Eames, "I'm sorry, I have to go after him."

Then he's gone, leaving Eames alone.

* * *

Two hours later Arthur finds himself once again knocking on Eames' door.

"How is he?" Eames asks.

They are sitting on a couch in the living room of his hotel suit. Even though they are sitting on the same couch Arthur feels like they are standing on opposites sides of the room.

"Not good," he says, "His subconscious has created a projection of Mal. He freaked out when he saw her, that's when the dream changed. We got trapped together, he got trapped with her. He couldn't focus enough to change it back, or... didn't want to."

He looks over at Eames, "He'll be ok, but the job's off."

"Of course, he'll need time to work out his demons." Eames squares his shoulders and turns to face Arthur properly "About what happened..."

"I'm sorry," Arthur interrupts, "I should never have asked you to kiss me."

"Why not?"

"This thing that we have together is great, and it's just a casual, physical thing, and that's fine. More than fine," he looks up and smiles sadly, "I shouldn't have tried to make it complicated."

"Oh Arthur," Eames stands up, walks over to stand in front of him and pulls him to his feet so they are standing facing each other.

He cups Arthur's face with both hands, leans forwards and kisses him.

It's a chaste kiss that lasts precious seconds before Eames pulls back whispering, "I want complicated with you."

Arthur just stands there, shocked. He brings his hand up and touches his lips still feeling the weight of Eames' on them.

He looks up and locks eyes with Eames, "Okay."

He moves forwards wraps his arms around Eames and brings their mouths back together. This time it's not chaste. Their mouths open, letting their tongues play and explore. It's wet, messy, undignified and perfect.

They manoeuvre themselves over to the bed, their lips never breaking contact. They don't have sex that night, instead they spend hours just kissing and holding each other. Sometimes their kisses are fast, desperate and filled with passion, other times they're slow, sensual and filled with something neither of them will admit. Eventually they fall asleep entangled together.

Eames doesn't even care about the morning breath when he kisses Arthur awake the next day.


	3. Breaking Apart

**Breaking the Rules chapter 3**

**Notes: **1. Sorry for the delay in posting RL knocked me on my butt. 2. This was originally going to be a three part fic, this being the final part but the story has taken an unexpected angst-y turn, so will have probably only one more chapter after this. I hope you all like it. 3. Every review I received put a stupid smile on my face so a big thank you to all those who made the effort and brighten my days.

* * *

Eames is sitting in his car staring in shock at his location. He double checks the laptop to make sure he hadn't made a wrong turn somewhere. The computer blinks at him, confirming that his target was indeed in the building in front of him.

It had been three days since the plane had landed safely in Los Angeles. That night should have been a celebration. They had perform an inception. A feat no other team had successfully accomplished. It would have been a great night, Cobb would have obviously gone home to his family, and Saito would have rushed off to ready his business, but everybody else would have gone out dancing and drinking, marvelling in their own brilliance. Then he and Arthur would have found a quiet room and gotten thoroughly reacquainted with each other.

But there wasn't any celebrating, because even though they had successfully performed inception on Fischer, Cobb and Saito hadn't made it through. It had baffled the airline and the authorities how two seemingly unconnected passengers had both lost their minds during the flight. They had all been detained at the airport while the plane was examined for possible toxins or causes that could explain what had happened. Arthur had spent that time sitting eerily still staring at the ceiling, not looking at anyone and only talking when asked a direct question. Eames had wanted nothing more than to go over and comfort the man, but they needed to preserve their cover especially while an investigation was going on.

Finally after half a day they were released. Eames had tried to keep up with the zombie like Arthur as they cleared immigration but by the time he had made it through he was gone. He went to their usual hotel but Arthur hadn't checked in. Calling his phone was no use it just rang and rang no one picking up. The messages he left went unanswered.

Eames knew that Arthur was sending him a message. He wanted to be left alone, but Eames couldn't do that. He knew that Cobb was more than Arthur's boss or team member. They'd been friends and had known each other a lot longer than Eames had known either of them. Arthur had to be hurting and Eames wasn't going to let him go through it alone.

So he tracked the GPS locator on Arthur's cell phone and it lead him here.

The location was a rundown motel that looks like it charges by the hour. It was sleazy and dirty and as unlike Arthur as you could get. He checks the blinking light on the computer one last time before exiting his car and approaching the room that held Arthur inside.

* * *

Arthur's hand is unsteady as he pours himself another glass of scotch. He's lost count of how much he's drunk but he knows it's not nearly enough.

He faintly hears a knock at the door but he ignores it. There's only one person he'd want to see and he's defiantly not standing outside this room. No, Dom will never knock on his door again.

He brings the glass to his mouth and drains the contents, he stopped feeling the burn hours ago. He reaches for the bottle to pour another glass pausing when he sees a pair of legs step into view.

He closes his eyes, _please _he prays silently, before opening them and following the legs up to see the face. He hates himself for the betrayal he feels when he sees Eames standing there. _It wasn't supposed to be you_.

"How'd you find me?" He asks words slurring from too much liquor.

"Your phone."

Eames walks further into the room and sits on the chair opposite him. Arthur glues his eyes firmly on the small table separating them.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm concerned about you. Thought you might need a friend right now."

Arthur laughs and sweeps his arm showing Eames the empty bottles littering the floor, "I've got all the friends I need."

"Yes, I can see you've made lots of them," he looks across the table to the scotch in Arthur's hand, "Feel like sharing that?"

"No," he replies his grip tightening.

"Arthur," Eames says softly, "You're holding on to that bottle like it's a life line. You're wearing the same clothes from the plane. You have actual stubble, and as sexy as it is I can't really appreciate it because I know it means you haven't showered for days," he leans across the table and gently places his hand on top of Arthur's, "But what really worries me, is that you won't look at me." He strokes his fingers along Arthur's wrist, "Look at me darling. Let me help you."

Arthur slides his hand from underneath Eames' and defiantly raises his eyes and stares at him, "Who are you to try and help me? You're nobody," he notices the flinch that Eames tries to conceal but he doesn't care, "We sleep together and I have a fondness for you but that's it. We're not a real couple, you don't love me, we're not... family."

"Mal and Dom, they were my family. They saved me, gave me a life worth living." Even though he is looking at Eames his eyes have become unfocused seeing into the past, "When she died it was hard but I buried the pain because I needed to be strong for him. Now he's gone too. He was like a brother and now, because of me, he's lost in his own mind. He's not even dead he's just... gone. They're gone."

"Because of you?" Eames asks softly.

He nods his head vehemently, "If I'd done my job properly we would have been prepared. Saito wouldn't have got shot and Dom wouldn't have stayed in limbo trying to find him. He wouldn't have gotten lost."

"Arthur, Love you can't..."

"Don't," he says with desperation, "don't call me that."

Arthur lets out a shaky breath as he releases his hold on the bottle and hides his head in his hands, "Please," he whispers through his fingers, "Please just go."

Eames can see that Arthur is too drunk and guilt ridden to listen to reason or anything else Eames might want to say or do to help him through his pain. So he stands up, grabs the bottle off the table so Arthur won't be able to drink any more and walks towards the door. Before leaving he looks back and sees Arthur sitting at the table, his face in his hands, his body shaking. Eames heart breaks for him and he realises that Arthur was wrong. He does love him.

It takes all his willpower to walk away.

He doesn't go far, he checks himself into the room next door. Needing to be close by in case he's wanted. He convinces himself that Arthur just needs a bit of time and space, that he said what he did because he was drunk and in pain. Tomorrow when he's sober they'll talk again and Eames will convince him that he wasn't to blame and, more importantly, that's he's not alone.

He spends the night sitting up on the bed with his ear pressed up to the wall to see if he can hear Arthur moving around.

He never does.

He doesn't hear Arthur stand up from the chair. Doesn't hear him walk around the room putting the few things he unpacked back in his bag. Doesn't hear him pick up his phone before putting it back down, leaving it on the bed so he can't be tracked down again. Doesn't hear him walk out the door and out of his life.

* * *

The knock causes Eames' stomach to clench in anticipation. It's been over a year since he's had any contact with Arthur but he can't help but hope, _Maybe this time it's him._

It's not.

"Ariadne," He smiles at her, "To what do I owe this pleasure."

He and Ariadne have kept in contact since the inception job. She started out sending him letters asking for advice or tips about structuring dream mazes, it seems what happened to Cobb wasn't enough to deter her from a life of dream architecture. After awhile she stopped writing for advice and started simply updating him on her new life in Los Angeles.

Miles had picked up where Cobb had left off and started training Ariadne in the art of mind manipulation. She was a quick study and before long the government was employing her to design and occasionally build dream levels for special assignments, on which she was always very secretive about.

He didn't pay too much attention to them at first just scanning the letters briefly out of courtesy before hiding them away. It wasn't until he read the most recent one, his heart stopping at one sentence "_Arthur doesn't think I'm ready_", that he went back and combed through them all, searching for that one word. _Arthur_.

It's the first time he's had any news of the man since he woke up to find he'd disappeared with no way to find or contact him. Ariadne didn't mention him a lot in her letters but from what she does say Eames knows that he's somehow involved with her work and that he spends a lot of time with Cobb's children.

"I'm running a job for the CIA that I'd like you to work on," She states.

Eames can't help it, he laughs, "_You _are running a job? With the CIA? How quaint."

Ariande bristles but doesn't respond, "We need a forger and you are the best I've seen. I can't give you any further details unless you sign on and get clearance."

"Why would I agree to a job I know nothing about?"

"Arthur is on the team."

He doesn't need any more convincing.

* * *

During the flight to Washington Eames reads over the basic details of the job. The job, or mission as the CIA calls it, is to discover the spy within one of their covert teams. Under the guise of giving the teams extraction training suspected individuals will willingly enter a shared dream. Eames, disguised as known counter intelligence agents, would approach them to see how they would respond.

It was going to be a long _mission_. There were fifteen covert team members and there were five different forgeries Eames was to use. That meant a lot of time, both in dreams and out. Hopefully that means he'll be able to find time to talk to Arthur alone.

Eames isn't deluding himself. He knows that whatever relationship they had ended two years ago when Arthur left. Eames had made himself deliberately easy to find but Arthur never contacted him, never came looking for him. So no, he wasn't expecting a grand re-ignition of passion at the mere sight of each other. But what he had with Arthur had been special, he had...loved the man, and he didn't want their last encounter to be him walking away from a broken man trying to deal with his grief. It had to end better than that.

He spends the entire flight reading through the information Ariadne had given him. He finally reaches the end of the forgery profiles when he turns to the final page and freezes. There, stuck to the middle of the last page was a post-it note, with three words written in Arthur's unmistakeable scrawl. His heart skips a beat as he reads Arthur's hand writing.

'Truth or Dare?'

He traces his hand across the words smiling, maybe there was hope for them after all.


	4. Reforging

Author's Note: I'm ashamed at how long it took me to finish this. I have no excuses, just that it took me forever to think of how to finish it. Note to self for next time, plan ahead! In rereading this story I wasn't too happy with Part 1 so I tweaked it a bit and added about 300 words (mainly to the start).

Reviews are more than welcome.

* * *

**Reforging**

As Eames walked into his new 'base of operations' he untucked his shirt. Then tucked it back in. If Eames had bought more than two shirts he's sure he would have spent all morning trying them on. As it was he spent ten minutes changing from one to the other. He hated how much of a school girl he had become.

He tried to concentrate on the building he was walking through. Looking at the layout, noting possible escape routes, areas be could get cornered in, but all he could think was 'I'm about to see him again.'

Despite the 'Truth or Dare' left in the folder Eames wasn't sure of his reception. For all he knew that note wasn't a peace offering but a threat. Although it was a pretty lame one if it was. Best case scenario Arthur falls all over you, he thinks, worst case scenario he punches you in the face. No. Worst case he pretends there was nothing between you. That would hurt more than any punch.

The guard escorting him to the 'strategy room' (got to love the CIA and their labels) points to a door to his right. Eames takes a deep breath. Behind that door was Arthur. He suddenly found it very hard to move.

Pull yourself together man, you're on a job act professional. You travelled all this way, committed yourself to months of _government_ work just to see him again. So man up and open that door.

Straightening his shoulders he turned the handle and quickly untucked his shirt as he walks through the door.

Shaking his head Arthur tried once again to focus on what he was doing. Realising he had read the same sentence a dozen times he gave up. He couldn't concentrate. No knowing _he_ would be here any minute.

He can't properly recall their last encounter, but he knows it hadn't gone well. He'd been in a bad place and he had taken it out on Eames. Losing Dom had shattered him to the core. Ever since he was 16 he had built his life around the Cobbs, without them Arthur hadn't had a purpose anymore. It had taken him six months to work his way up from the gutter. To be reminded that there were still two people that needed him, James and Phillipa, Mal and Dom's children. Their grandparents weren't going to be able to look after them forever and he was determined to be there for them whenever they needed it.

So he quit his illegal businesses and cut all ties to his former life. Ariadne got him a consulting position within the dream division of the CIA. He works steady hours from 8-4, and on Mondays and Wednesdays he visits the kids. Life had fallen into a routine. That's when Arthur saw what he'd thrown away.

Every night he went home to an empty apartment. His new role didn't give him nearly as much work and he never had any research to bury himself in. His nights got very lonely. Trying to go to bars or clubs felt shallow and cold. Lying in bed one night a memory resurfaced. It was Eames looking worried saying the word Arthur hadn't been ready to hear, 'love'. There was only one person Arthur had ever wanted to take home with him. Only one person he could consider sharing this new life with. He wanted to hear him say that word again, if he wasn't too late.

He'd kept tabs on Eames over the months, not even lying to himself about why. He'd thought about going to find him a few times but he wasn't prepared to leave the kids in case something happened. So instead of going to Eames, he had bought Eames to him.

"Sir," his assistant poked his head through the door, "You wanted me to tell you when Mr. Eames had arrived."

"Thank you."

Arthur stood up pulling on his jacket. It had been over a year, Eames has probably moved on, forgotten about what they had. But he had to try, otherwise he was going to regret it forever. Straightening his tie he made his way through the hall to where Eames was waiting.

Eames was beginning to think he'd been placed in an empty room as an experiment. See how long it took him to go crazy. After half an hour of waiting, chastising himself for ever thinking that Arthur would be waiting for him, he'd had enough. Crossing the room he pulls opens the door and his heart stops.

Standing on the other side is Arthur. Who looks good. Really good, in a beige suit and tie, hair cut short, smile lighting his face. A far cry from the man he'd left in the motel.

"Hi," says Arthur.

_Hi?_, that's all he's got to say, not _I'm sorry _or _please forgive me, _just _hi. _All his hopes of reconciliation fly out the window. Seeing him standing there smiling at him like they haven't spent the last year apart. Like Eames hasn't been waiting for the day when he hears that Arthur had died, or been captured or something other than living the good life that he was apparently now living. Without him. All the emotions he's been suppressing for the past twelve months comes to the surface, and he's mad.

"One phone call to tell me you were okay. You couldn't give me one phone call?"

The smile slips of Arthur's face, "Eames I'm... Let's sit down."

"Let's not," he says shoving his finger into Arthur's face, "When we first got involved I wanted to kept things simple. But then you went and made be bloody care about you. Made me l-," he took a breath, "then when you needed someone to care about you, you pushed me away. Ran away where I couldn't find you. I asked every contact I had if they'd seen you. I fucking checked morgues when people were brought in matching your description. Then I find out you've been living a healthy domestic life. You never thought that I might want to know that you were okay?"

Arthur simply stares at him, keeping quiet. He doesn't offer up an explanation, a reason why Eames had been living through hell. He just stands there.

"Clearly falling for you was a mistake," Eames says, "A mistakes I'm only just realising. I shouldn't have taken the job. You'll have to find someone else."

He pushes past Arthur, ignoring the heat he feels when their bodies touch.

"Wait," Arthur says grabbing his arm, the point of contact sends a buzz through him, "There's no job."

"What?"

"There's no job. Well there is, but not for another four months."

"Then what the hell am I doing here?"

Arthur opens his mouth, but no sound comes out. Eames rips his arm free and takes a step away.

"I needed to see you, " Arthur says, "I didn't think you'd come just for me?"

He wishes he could keep on walking. Wishes he could forget about him, but he knows he can't. Despite thirty years of careful planning this one stupid, stubborn man has managed to worm his way in and turn his life upside down three times over. He turns slowly back to face him. The look Arthur is giving him is one of a desperate man making a final plea. The hope he'd dashed away slowly starts to trickle back.

"I've been waiting for over a year for you to show up at my door," he says.

"I'm sorry," Arthur takes a step towards him, "I'm sorry I didn't let you help me. I'm sorry I didn't let you find me. It's taken me a long time to sort out my life. But I know what I want now. I want you. I... I love you."

Eames steps back, "You haven't so much as texted me in a year."

"I'm sorry."

"Really? Why?"

"Did you get my note?" Arthur asks softly.

"Arthur this isn't-"

"Did you get it?"

"Yes, I got it."

Arthur pauses a moment, "And? What's your answer?"

The last time they had played this it had changed his life. Set him on the path that led him to this. To a relationship that had fallen apart. If he takes the plunge again there's nothing saying that it couldn't happen a second time. So here's where he makes his choice. He either leaves now and never looks back. Or he forgives all and takes a chance.

"Dare," Eames replies. He's always been a gambling man anyway.

Releasing his breath Arthur moves forward and looks into his eyes. "Stay with me," he brings his arms up and wraps them around his waist.

"Love me," he whispers.

Raising his hand, Eames trails his thumb down Arthur's cheek, "Okay."

"Okay what?"

"Okay, I'll love you."

He pulls Eames back towards the door. Now that he was staying put for the moment Arthur wanted to move their reunion to a move private location. Once inside the conference room Eames pulls him into his arms and brings their lips together for the first time in over a year. Kissing him was like breathing again after being suffocated. Pure relief mingled with pain. How had he ever let this man go?

Breaking the kiss Eames says, "I'm not good at staying in the one place."

"I don't care. Just think of here as your home base. The place you come back to."

He smiles, "That I can do."

Capturing his lips again Eames pushes him backwards until he hits the table.

"So this job, if I take it we'll be working together?" Eames asks

"Just like old times."

"It's a long job. I don't think I could keep my hands off you that long. Does your 'no sex on a job' rule still apply?"

Arthur runs his hands through Eames' hair, "It's only government work. I can afford to be a little distracted."

"Only a little? So if I were to bend you over this table have my way with you? That wouldn't be _too_ distracting?"

"It would definitely make future meetings in here interesting."

"Is that an objection?"

Grinning he slides onto the table and wraps his legs around Eames' and pulls him close.

"No," he says as he starts undoing the buttons on Eames shirt.

The End


End file.
